Vacation bible school kicks off

Cheryl Rosa, Jackie Hornage, Karen Tates and Rachel Eden, all Crew Leaders for the River of Life Church in Jacksonville, prepare tropical trees for this months Vacation Bible School at the Church.

Photo by John Sudbrink / The Daily News

By Katie Hansen and Chris Thomas - localdesk@jdnews.com

Published: Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 08:12 AM.

While summer can mean a lot of things — lazy days at the beach, vacations, a break from homework — to the faithful, it also marks that time of year for vacation bible school.

Several churches in Jacksonville are opening their doors to the public and their congregations, both kids and adults, to learn more about God and the Bible during special weeks over the summer. Each church has a theme — from special agents to jungle safaris urging believers to be wild for Jesus — to help participants soak up the Christian teachings.

Washington Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, located at 347 Bell Fork Road in Jacksonville, hosts the jungle safari-themed vacation bible school June 9 through 13 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The school is open to the public from nursery age to senior adults, is free, and people can attend from just one day to the whole week.

According to Dora (Patsy) Fields, an organizer of the event, the VBS will be a place for “kids to explore the nature of God.”

“We have different daily subjects,” Fields said, which classes, divided by age groups will explore.

A devotion period begins around 6 p.m. where the attendees will learn about scripture, pray and sing hymns.

While summer can mean a lot of things — lazy days at the beach, vacations, a break from homework — to the faithful, it also marks that time of year for vacation bible school.

Several churches in Jacksonville are opening their doors to the public and their congregations, both kids and adults, to learn more about God and the Bible during special weeks over the summer. Each church has a theme — from special agents to jungle safaris urging believers to be wild for Jesus — to help participants soak up the Christian teachings.

Washington Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, located at 347 Bell Fork Road in Jacksonville, hosts the jungle safari-themed vacation bible school June 9 through 13 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The school is open to the public from nursery age to senior adults, is free, and people can attend from just one day to the whole week.

According to Dora (Patsy) Fields, an organizer of the event, the VBS will be a place for “kids to explore the nature of God.”

“We have different daily subjects,” Fields said, which classes, divided by age groups will explore.

A devotion period begins around 6 p.m. where the attendees will learn about scripture, pray and sing hymns.

“We have fun singing,” Fields said, adding that “Father Abraham” is a popular song among the congregants.

After devotion, the groups will split into their classes and participate in crafts, snacks and lessons.

Each age group will have its own theme for the week, including the turtles class for the young kids and an I am Revealed theme for the seniors.

Washington Chapel provides free transportation for attendees. All they have to do is call Fields at 910-455-4469 before 3:30 p.m. on the first day of VBS to arrange getting picked up in the church van.

“We’ll have fun, lots of fun, singing,” she said.

River of Life Church will be rolling with a “Weird Animals” theme for its vacation bible school this summer, which runs from 9 a.m. to noon June 23 through 27 at the church.

River of Life Children’s Minister Jackie Hornage said Weird Animals is all about exploring “Where Jesus Loves One of a Kind.”

Their free VBS is open to ages 5 to 12.

Parents who want to register their children can show up the first day and register at the door.

The whole week will revolve around a bright tropical theme — from the Critter Cafe, which will serve the kids snacks, to the colorful cinema and outdoor games geared toward the theme and bible lessons.

The Imagination Station will get kids up to their elbows in crafts, and the whole church building will be transformed into a jungle with bright flowers, vines and more.

“Every day is something really different and really cool,” Hornage said.

Kids will go on an interactive bible adventure each day, learning about different stories from the Bible.

For example, on one day VBS teachers will decorate the room to look like Jerusalem and someone will dress up like the woman at the well, a bible story from John 4:1-40. As the teacher is telling the story, Hornage said the kids will get to participate, bringing cups up to the well.

Games will also correspond with the stories, such as a group relay game to fill water buckets that look like wells.

Hornage said kids can also expect “lots of dancing and lots of fun.”

In the mornings, kids will dance along with leaders as a way to start the day. They also will be given a Bible verse to correlate to each day, along with snap bracelets of different colors that match the verse of the day.

“They’re going to learn about Jesus and they’re going to take Him home,” Hornage said, adding that VBS is a way for people out in the community to get a taste of the Sunday school classes they provide for kids weekly throughout the year.

River of Life Church is located at 1940 Gum Branch Road in Jacksonville. For more information, call the church at 910-346-1114.

Some churches are opting for an investigative theme for this summer’s VBS.

Centerview Baptist Church on Piney Green Road invites the public to partake in its “Agency D3” vacation bible school from 6 to 9 p.m. June 16 through 20 on the church campus.

“Our theme is called Agency D3 and the D3 stands for discover, decide, defend,” said VBS Director Denise Thompson.

The church is “recruiting special agents,” from 3 years to senior adults, according to Thompson, who added that the program is free.

“Adults do the same things that the kids do, believe it or not,” she said.

Each day begins with a worship rally, which includes music, skits and other activities. Also at this time, they will collect offerings from the participants to be donated to the North Carolina Baptist Children’s Home.

Guys will try to out-donate girls for a chance to see Thompson iced down with a bucket of cold water. If the gals donate the most with the weeks’ offerings, Pastor Mark Thompson will get the water.

After the worship rally each day, groups will split into individual classes broken up by age groups, and then they will rotate to different stations throughout the evening.

Rotations include snacks, games, crafts and more, all related to the theme.

Different games will simulate special agent training, such as a game where strings are stretched across a room to represent laser beams, and participants have to try and win a race through the obstacles.

“Nine times out of 10, our adults end up being the biggest kids we have,” Thompson said.

The best way to register is at the door the first night, Thompson said. They will also have tables for signing up on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings before the VBS week in the Welcome Center of the church.

The program is free; however, Thompson said participants are welcome to purchase T-shirts for $10. They will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“If you’re looking for a church, this is a good way to learn more about us,” Thompson said.

Churches throughout the area will host Vacation Bible School this summer. To see which vacation bible schools are happening, or to submit your church's vacation bible school information, click here.